<~/UkeDude\~>
Well-known member
Hey guys, I own and play a Tenor Kamaka ukulele and I don't know if it's just me but does anyone elses kamaka tone tend to get sharper the higher you play on the fret board?
Hmm, I don't own a Kamaka HF3...so I would need to purchase one to test it for myself...UAS is strong.
But I have played Aldrine's Kamaka for...well...quite a few hours. Both acoustically and amplified on a PA system and on my own Vox DA5. And I never noticed that problem on his, which I think was strung with some variation of the J71 set. Then again, maybe I just ignored it because the instrument was so magical.
Didn't he do a lot of modifications to his Kamaka though?
Just nut and saddle stuff, and a $200 pickup job. But nothing too major...
besides re-fretting, what else is there left to do to fix intonation?
There's a t-shirt: "The UAS is strong with this one."Hmm, I don't own a Kamaka HF3...so I would need to purchase one to test it for myself...UAS is strong.
I think Aldrine's Kamaka is a little sharp. The bridge has moved from leaving it in the car too many times.
yep. true.
the bridge glue is slowly coming off and causing the bridge to slightly tilt towards the neck. The saddle is already pretty far back and I was using normal tension strings so if anything they should've played flat. But I kinda don't wanna take it back to Kamaka to get fixed though... they already kind of hate me thee hahaha. Last time I was there, I kept asking them to fix the saddle cause it kept goin off tune. Needless to say they were tired of a certain filipino kid after he kept coming back like 5 times to the shop with the same problem lol
If I read right what SuperSecretBETA and Aldrine said, then it's not really the maker's fault.
Some of the glues used in luthiery soften when they get hot. If you leave a uke/guitar/mandolin in a hot place, like a car in the summer, then the glue can soften. As bridges on flat top acoustic instruments are usually just glued into place that means that the string tension can pull the bridge out of position.
I've seen it happen in two ways -
First way, the back of the bridge begins to lift up as the glue gives. This can mean that the saddle is tipped towards the nut and the intonation goes sharp. Action also often raises a bit.
Second and rarer, the bridge gradually slides towards the headstock but stays flat. Again, intonation goes sharp.
I've been in the room when the glue holding the bridge of a steel-strung guitar finally gave up. Makes an interesting noise as that bridge pings off.
If that's what happened, that Aldrine's uke got really hot several times, well... they're not designed for that!
Hide glue, used in high quality luthiery, is actually prepared in heated pots to keep it soft. If a builder/repairer wants to do a repair or adjustment which means part of an instrument has to be loosened or removed, they sometimes do it by applying heat to soften the glue.
Moral: Keep yr ukes away from hot cars and radiators!
If I read right what SuperSecretBETA and Aldrine said, then it's not really the maker's fault.
Some of the glues used in luthiery soften when they get hot. If you leave a uke/guitar/mandolin in a hot place, like a car in the summer, then the glue can soften. As bridges on flat top acoustic instruments are usually just glued into place that means that the string tension can pull the bridge out of position.
I've seen it happen in two ways -
First way, the back of the bridge begins to lift up as the glue gives. This can mean that the saddle is tipped towards the nut and the intonation goes sharp. Action also often raises a bit.
Second and rarer, the bridge gradually slides towards the headstock but stays flat. Again, intonation goes sharp.
I've been in the room when the glue holding the bridge of a steel-strung guitar finally gave up. Makes an interesting noise as that bridge pings off.
If that's what happened, that Aldrine's uke got really hot several times, well... they're not designed for that!
Hide glue, used in high quality luthiery, is actually prepared in heated pots to keep it soft. If a builder/repairer wants to do a repair or adjustment which means part of an instrument has to be loosened or removed, they sometimes do it by applying heat to soften the glue.
Moral: Keep yr ukes away from hot cars and radiators!